Born in 1123, she was the eldest daughter of William X of Poitou, and the heiress of Aquitaine. Stretching from the River Loire to the Pyrenees, it was like a separate nation bordering France. When William X died, his estate passed to Eleanor, and the question of whom she would marry became a hot political issue. In 1138, Eleanor married Louis VII of France, uniting for a time a good portion of what we would recognize as the modern-day nation of France. http://www.millersv.edu/~english/homepag...
At age 19, she pledged her vassals for service in the Second Crusade, which was being preached by (St.) Bernard of Clairvaux. Contemporary records speak of Eleanor dressed as an Amazon. Though grateful for the men Eleanor pledged, the Church was dismayed to find that the French queen, with 300 of her ladies, intended to accompany the men on Crusade. They dressed in armor and carried lances, but didn't fight. That was left to the men, who found the presence of the ladies distracting, to say the least. Contemporary chronicles blame all that came after on Eleanor. After the dismal failure of the Second Crusade, a papal bull was issued which banned women from crusading.
While in Antioch, Eleanor met her Uncle Raymond, prince of the city. They were close in age and Eleanor found him to be much more stimulating than her own husband. There was speculation that the relationship was more than familial. In any event, Louis VII ordered Eleanor to accompany him on campaign to relieve Jerusalem. After a bitter public argument, Eleanor obeyed. The Jerusalem campaign was a failure. Uncle Raymond was later killed in battle, and the royal couple returned to France in separate ships. The marriage was annulled on a technicality, and in 1152, Eleanor was footloose in her beloved Aquitaine, which she ruled in her own right.
She then married Henry, Count of Anjou (later Henry II of England). It was a good match, though she was 11-years his senior, and Henry came to appreciate her intellect almost as much as her fecundity. She bore him 8 children in thirteen years (William, Henry, Richard I the Lionhearted, Geoffrey, John Lackland, Matilda, Eleanor and Joanna). Richard and John became in turn, kings of England. Through a combination of tough fighting and clever alliances, and with a large brood of children, Eleanor and Henry built a vast empire.
